Max Weber was one of the most influential figures in sociological research and helped found sociology as a science. Being raised in a family of scholars and politicians gave Weber the leverage to succeed. At first, Weber studied law and economics, but he later switched his focus onto, or rather intertwined it with, society. According to Stephen Kalberg, Weber was the one founder of sociology that went beyond the standards of his peers; his most famous achievements include his study of religion: from Christianity in America to Buddhism in China, as well as government (8). Eventually, Weber took on the interactionist perspective and developed four main points on social action (Knox 11, Elwell). The Life of Max Weber

Maximilian Carl Emil Weber was born in Erfurt, Thuringia, Prussia (modern day Germany) in 1864. His mother, Helene Fallenstein, came from a wealthy Huguenot family and valued her religion. Max Weber Senior, however, was an active and domineering politician (Poggi 1). Weber gained an early perspective on politics and government from his father and his father’s associates. His mother’s Huguenot dynasty reached far beyond Germany, feeding his interest in economics. During Weber’s childhood, Germany had taken on the appearance of an authoritarian society (Poggi 2). In 1869, Max Weber Senior took his family and moved to Berlin for a political faction where Weber got his educational start. While at school in Berlin, Weber often sent home letters with references to Homer, Virgil, and Cicero, clearly showing an interest in the social sciences (Bendix 1).

In 1882, Weber enrolled at the University of Heidelberg where he studied law (Poggi 4). He spent the next few years doing military service, something he was quite proud of. In 1884, he went from the University of Berlin to the University of Göttingen. In order to receive his doctorate in law, Weber wrote The History of Commercial Partnerships in the Middle Ages in 1889. Two years later, Weber earned the title “Privatdozent,” which allowed him to become a professor (Poggi 5).

Weber became increasingly interested in social politics and joined the “Verein für Socialpolitik,” a group of professionals that saw the economy as something that could solve the problems of society (Poggi 7). In 1893, Weber married his distant cousin, Marianne Schnitger, who claimed most of the responsibility for publishing his works after his death. The next year, they moved together to Freiburg, where Weber was appointed professor of economics at Freiburg University. He later took the same position at the University of Heidelberg (Poggi 8). In 1897, Weber went to a sanatorium after his father’s death. This forced him to quit his job, and, ultimately, retire from being a professor in 1903.

In 1904, Weber published his most famous work, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (Poggi 8). During World War I, he became the director of hospitals in Heidelberg as well as a teacher at the University of Munich (Poggi 12). It was at Munich that he created the first German university solely dedicated to sociology. Because Weber took a very left-wing, liberal view during the German Revolution, many of his colleagues and students argued against him and even took up pickets outside of his home (Mommsen 227). Max Weber passed away on March 14, 1920, in Munich, after catching pneumonia.

AchievementsWeber had many achievements, including his contribution to the interactionist perspective (also known as symbolic interactionism) of sociology (Knox 11). The interactionists “[generalize] about everyday forms of social interaction in order to explain society as a whole” (Schaeffer 16). Interactionists pay special attention to symbols used in everyday language on a micro level, such as tattoos, dress codes, and posture (Schaeffer 16-17). Max Weber argued that in order to understand social behavior, sociologists have to see the world from the eyes of that society (Knox 12). This approach was called...

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I chose to write about MaxWeber because of the three founding fathers of Sociology (Marx, Durkheim and Weber) I found MaxWeber to be the most interesting and well-rounded sociologist. MaxWeber had many influences in his life. These influences helped to develop his sociological theories. I will examine what I feel are the three main components of his sociological beliefs; Protestant Ethic, Capitalism and Rationalization. I will also discuss Weber’s background as I feel that it impacted his views and his Sociological theories.
MaxWeber was born into a Protestant family in 1864. Because his family was Protestants, they were industrialist. The Weber’s were a distinguished family that had many social and political acquaintances (Delaney, 2014). Marx was surrounded by an intellectual circle. His upbringing not only resulted in him becoming one of our founding fathers of Sociology, but his brother, Alfred Weber, became a celebrated Philosopher, Scientist and Sociologist as well (Smith, 1995) . Weber’s mother, Helena Fallenstien was a devout Calvinist who sought to become closer to God. Weber’s father, MaxWeber Senior, on the other hand, was more influenced and interested in Politics...

...Ironic Social Theory of MaxWeber: The ‘Iron Cage’
Steven Seidman
Wiley-Blackwell publishing Ltd.
MaxWeber has long been recognized as one of the founders of modern sociology. He has had an immense impact on how we understand the development and nature of our capitalist society today. Looking at almost all the major world cultures, Weber was able to analyze the different factors that he believes have contributed to the modernization of our society. He is well known for his work The Protestant Ethic and Spirit of Capitalism, where he explores the link between religious Protestant ideals and the start up of capitalist culture in Europe. After analyzing the upbringing of modernization in Europe Weber investigates why similar systems failed to develop in Eastern cultures; recognizing that religion and culture are key determinants. Later he identifies that charismatic authority also has an influence on modernization since these are the leaders that threaten the existing social and political systems and form revolutions of social change. Weber notes that this constant challenge by charismatic authority will eventually subside and is succeeded by a rationally controlled bureaucracy. Bureaucracy is inevitable, spreading to all major social spheres, and although a major force of modernity it has its negative impacts. Bureaucratic systems dehumanize...

...Introduction of Max Webber:
M
ax Webber was born in April 21, 1864 at Erfurt, Prussia (Germany). He was German sociologist and political economist who profoundly influenced social theory, social research and discipline of sociology itself. Webber is often cited with Emile Durkheim and Karl Marx as one of the three principle architects of Modern Social Science. Max Webber was a sociologist and political economist known for describing the protestant ethic and for helping to found the German Democratic Party after First World War. Max Webber’s occupation was Educator, Philosopher, Scholar, Journalist, Sociologist, and Academic Author.
Webber was son of a wealthy liberal politician and Calvinist mother. Webber left home to enroll at university of Heidelberg as law student in 1982. After a year of military service he transferred to university of Berlin at the same time with his studies, he worked as junior barrister.
In 1986 Webber passed the examination for Referendar (Comparable to the bar association examination in British and American legal systems). Throughout the late 1880’s Webber continued his study of law and history. He earned his law doctorate in 1889 by writing a dissertation on legal history. Webber joins the University of Berlin’s faculty, lecturing and consulting for government. Webber with his wife moved to Freiburg in1894. Where Webber was...

...Thinking For The Future
The Protestant Ethic and Essays in Sociology, both written by MaxWeber, illustrate Weber’s observations of connections between Protestants, involved mainly in business, and Calvinists, who played a major role in the Capitalist spirits. Weber describes Calvinism as “the faith over which the great political and cultural struggles of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were fought in the most highly developed countries” (Weber, 56). Calvinists have a doctrine of predestination, which is based on God’s, predestine concerning humans and whether or not they shall be saved. Weber argues that Calvinism is the most rational religion—this, he maintains, is because they are privately steady. However, because the Puritans had the desire to work due to their calling, this forced other individuals to do so as well. Due to the Protestant callings, asceticism developed "tremendous cosmos of the modern economic order” (Weber, 121). Analyzing Weber’s observation shows the reader how Calvinism is so essential in Capitalism. This is believed because it is the will of god. People even today devote their lives determined by this method, which shows how much this belief has carried on. However, based on this belief, at times people become blinded by the goods that benefit them and really forget or ignore the true value of life. Seeing the work force start from...

...Maximilian Karl Emil "Max" Weber (German pronunciation: [ˈmaks ˈveːbɐ]; 21 April 1864 – 14 June 1920) was a German sociologist, philosopher, and political economist who profoundly influenced social theory, social research, and the discipline of sociology itself.[1] Weber is often cited, with Émile Durkheim and Karl Marx, as one of the three founding architects of sociology.[2][3][4]
Weber was a key proponent of methodological antipositivism, arguing for the study of social action through interpretive (rather than purely empiricist) means, based on understanding the purpose and meaning that individuals attach to their own actions. Weber's main intellectual concern was understanding the processes of rationalisation, secularization, and "disenchantment" that he associated with the rise of capitalism and modernity[5] and which he saw as the result of a new way of thinking about the world.[6] Weber is perhaps best known for his thesis combining economic sociology and the sociology of religion, elaborated in his book The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, in which he proposed that ascetic Protestantism was one of the major "elective affinities" associated with the rise in the Western world of market-driven capitalism and the rational-legal nation-state. Against Marx's "historical materialism," Weber emphasised the importance of...

...MAXWEBER
I. INTRODUCTION
A) Biography
Birth name: Karl Emil Maximilian Weber
Birth date: April 21 1864 (Erfurt, Germany)
Parents: MaxWeber Sr. and Helene Fallenstein
Death: June 14, 1920 (Munich, Germany)
Spouse: Marianne Schnitger (feminist and author)
* Studied in the universities of Heidelberg and Berlin and was trained in law.
* He taught in various universities in Germany until 1897 when he suffered a nervous breakdown due to his father’s death. His illness forced him to withdraw from his teaching duties in 1903.
* Even though he wasn’t teaching, Weber still continued to work by studying various philosophical and religious topics, which led him to publish a number of essays and, most especially, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, which is considered his most famous work.
* During the first World War, Weber became a fervent supporter of the German’s aims for war and even volunteered to be part of the army but he later changed his views and became one of the most prominent critics of Kaiser’s war policies.
* He was invited to join the draft board of the Weimar Constitution as well as the German delegation to Versailles and even ran for a parliamentary seat.
* Frustrated with the state of politics, he returned to teaching in 1919 and briefly taught in the Universities of Vienna and Munich and was compiling his writings...

...What do you understand Max Weber's contention that sociology should be the study of social action to mean?
Society in Max Weber's eyes consists of actions of the individuals.
Weber believed that actions of individuals are what form society and the basis of sociology. Humans are aware of their surroundings and naturaly create different situations.
The actions of individuals are “Behaviour with a subjective meaning” meaning the action is done with intention and meaning. Social action according to Weber is done consciously, aware of the presence of others, and directed to a specific goal. In order to understand and differentiate the individuals social action, Weber created four major theories:
Traditional social action: Actions influenced by tradition or ingrained habits. Traditional action is often done without thinking and comes naturally, for instance tying once shoelaces.
Affectual social action: Driven by a persons emotions. Affectual action is divided into emotional tension and uncontrolled reaction where uncontrollable reaction is unmanageable and emotional tension is more controllable and not as obvious to the surrounding individuals.
Value rational action: Driven by values, religious beliefs and ideas. This action is independent of the effects of the decision and is determined by value. Engaging in interests and actvities that one enjoys and value....

...perspectives on the growth of modernity. Society is constantly changing as more time passes by. People like Emile Durkheim and MaxWeber both offer their own individual perspective on how the growth of modernity came about and how we have come to understand today’s society. In the 1890s period Emile Durkheim a sociologist, in France watched the transformation of society go from a ‘primitive’ stance into something more complex also known as ‘organic solidarity’.MaxWeber a German sociologist on the other hand, his view was in regards to how the growth of government was a driving force in modernity to maintain order, organisation and administration of specialised functions. Both theses sociologists’ theories are interested in the social order of society as the core characteristic of modernity.
In 1887 Emile Durkheim became the first Professor of Sociology at the University of Bordeaux, even though there was no department of sociology developed. (Bessant &amp; Watts, 2007) In France there were many war casualties by World War I. The goal of Emile Durkheim was to develop a sociology that would help his country to conquer its continuing moral crisis. In achieving this he would encompass many themes of his predecessors such as Auguste Comte, Charles Montesquieu and Alexis de Tocqueville. (Stones, 1998) In addition to his emphasis on French origins of sociology, the...